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Summary of the Corporate Plan Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Summary of the Corporate Plan for the period 1999/00 to 2003/04 1.1.1.1.1 The Corporate 1.1.1.1.2 Su August 1999 OPENING REMARKS In a fast-changing and often turbulent world, the role of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has remained constant -- from its creation as an Act of Parliament in 1936 to its rejuvenation at the turn of a new century. The CBC exists to serve Canadians. That duty is as simple in its definition as it is complex in its execution. The CBC is preparing to enter the most innovative and perhaps most challenging era of broadcast history, with a five-year Corporate Plan to chart its course, a clear vision and a strengthened resolve. Technology has unleashed a multi-channel and multimedia universe, one that cannot be held back by either artificial barriers or by well-meaning national sentiment. Never before has it been more important that Canadians have an established and trusted vehicle to carry their voices and their stories to each other and to the world at their fingertips. Never before has it been more essential that the CBC be given the flexibility and the freedom to grow alongside the people who depend upon it. After more than a decade of uncertainty, the CBC faces a future based more on the opportunities before it than the limitations that clouded its past. Stable federal funding has aided our ability to plan but the overall financial imperatives have been permanently altered and challenges will continue. We are confident, however, that our plans will allow the CBC to build upon its strengths and extend its reach within the familiar forms of radio and television and outward to the dynamic and evolving realm of cyberspace that will determine Canada’s place in the 21st century. The foundations to support this unfolding mission are already in place. As this Corporate Plan attests, the CBC’s myriad services in conventional broadcasting and new media link Canadians in an ever-growing communications web of regional and national services that span the country and sweep around the world. The CBC is a national institution. As such, its value to the community is more than the sum of its cameras and microphones and computer links. It is more than budgets and corporate structures, no matter how efficient or streamlined they have become. To the more than 7,500 talented and dedicated Canadians who work here, it is more than just a paycheque at the end of a long day. The CBC is an enduring service that reveals who we are, how we live our lives and what dreams will lead us to even higher places. Perrin Beatty President and CEO ________________ { PAGE } Table of Contents OPENING REMARKS ii I. THE CBC MANDATE 1 II. OUR COMMITMENT TO CANADIANS 1. Strategic Directions 2 2. The Future of Media Services 7 3. Rethinking the Corporate Culture 14 4. Financing the CBC 15 III. RESOURCE OVERVIEW ¨ Financial Projections 16 IV. CAPITAL 1. Capital 17 2. Working Capital 17 V. SPECIAL PROJECTS AND RESOURCE ISSUES 1. Canadian Audio-Visual Legacy 18 2. Year 2000 (Y2K) 18 3. Income Tax Liability 19 4. Borrowing Plan 19 CONCLUSION 20 ________________ {PAGE } I. THE CBC MANDATE The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is an arm's-length Crown corporation that is part of the Canadian Heritage portfolio. Our broadcasting activities form a vital part of the portfolio's contributions to the growth and development of Canada, particularly in the area of culture. An important element of the CBC’s restructuring over the last three years has been a reaffirmation of our commitment to a mandate established by Parliament. The CBC’s services must: · reflect Canadian stories and values; · reflect Canada’s regions to themselves and to each other; · strive to be of equivalent quality in English and French; · meet the needs of minority language communities in English and French; · reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada; and · reach Canadians wherever they live, by the most efficient means available. The CBC’s mandate recognizes that Canada is more than the sum of its parts but that the needs of the whole cannot be met without recognizing the needs of those parts. To be national, one must first be regional; to truly serve the majority, one must sustain the minority; to meet the needs of the great cities and forge a Canadian identity, one must also be present in the vast spaces that define our country’s spirit. ________________ { PAGE } II. OUR COMMITMENT TO CANADIANS The CBC will enter the next century in a very different environment than the one that characterized its birth more than 60 years ago. The ever-increasing choices available in both radio and television services, and now the Internet, have changed both the industry and the way people relate to media. As globalization, consolidation and audience fragmentation impact on the CBC, our role at the centre of this country’s broadcasting system is now more crucial than ever. There is simply no other service that can come close to the CBC’s role as the single most important provider of Canadian programs reflecting Canada. In this period of intensive change in the Canadian broadcasting system, the CBC must evolve with Canadians. The purpose of this document is to present a clear statement of our mission, our vision, our new strategic course of action and our concept of the changing role of the public broadcaster. The Broadcasting Act of 1991 gave the CBC a wide and impressive mandate. Given that mandate and the clear policy objectives outlined by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage in Strengthening and Celebrating Canada for the New Millennium, now is the time to clearly articulate the role that Canada’s public broadcaster will play in the future. 1. STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS The CBC’s mission is simple — to tell Canadian stories, to provide Canadians with relevant news and information, to support and contribute to Canada’s rich cultural capital and to build bridges between communities and regions. Our strategic planning process was guided by five simple, yet powerful, priorities. To meet our goals: 1. The CBC must maintain and deepen our regional roots. 2. We must commit our resources to pan-Canadian programming. 3. We must continue the revitalization of CBC English Television, through Canadianization. 4. We must continue to set the standard for Canadian journalism in our news and information programming. 5. Internally, we must open up our corporate culture to respond to a new and constantly changing environment. ________________ { PAGE } The CBC is accountable to each and every Canadian. We enter a new era with clear commitments to our stakeholders. The CBC will: 1 Provide Programming of Interest to All Canadians All Canadians own the CBC, and every Canadian has the right to find programming of interest on our services. Our radio operations provide distinct services that offer a full range of programming genres. Our television programming mix includes news and public affairs, sports, drama, variety and comedy. Some of our programming is intended to reach wide audiences while other programs of a more cultural nature appeal to more targeted audiences. In the future, we will maintain English and French Television and Radio as strong core services that provide a wide range of quality Canadian programming. 2 Provide a Pan-Canadian Reflection Throughout our Programming For Canada’s cultural identity to survive, Canadians must see themselves as well as their country reflected on their airwaves. The CBC is committed to increasing a pan-Canadian view in its programming, especially in news and information. Additionally, we will redouble our efforts to increase the number of new voices on our services. Over the next decade, a key measure of our success will be a significantly increased reflection of all of Canada, in all of its diversity. 3 Strengthen our Distinctive Presence in the Regions Only by maintaining a strong presence in Canada’s regions can we present an authentic vision of Canada as a whole. We will use our newsgathering capabilities, strengthened by Newsworld and RDI, to build stronger bridges between the regions and the major population centres. Our emphasis will be on the national distribution of regional news. English Television will increase the number of prime time hours available to the regions and increase funding to the regions for non-information programming. French Television will contribute to the development of independent production houses in the regions and will increase its regional presence in information programming and in documentaries. Our commitment to regionally produced programming is central to the fierce loyalty our radio services generate. Their continued presence in the regions will be enhanced by the addition of new services and even more programs. ________________ {PAGE } 4 Revitalize English Television Through Canadianization As Canada’s public broadcaster, the CBC is Canada’s storyteller. Our programming provides a touchstone that gives Canadians a sense of who we are. The programs we offer will be proudly and resolutely Canadian. English Television has almost totally Canadianized prime time schedules and most of the daytime schedules. The future success of the Canadianization effort, however, is predicated in large part upon continued access to the Canadian Television Fund. 5 Provide Canada’s Premier News and Information Service Journalistic leadership is one of CBC’s greatest strengths. The CBC is the only news organization with a presence throughout the country in both official languages and the only one to station French-language journalists west of Ottawa. Our regional operations provide Canadians in all parts of the country with windows on events throughout Canada. The defining characteristic of CBC journalism must be its credibility.
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